String.Format() with max chars?

[MC]

Is it possible to use String.Format and a format specifier in such a
way to ensure that a string does not exceed the field width in which
it is placed?

Example:

string [] strings = {"Hello World", "Wednesday Evening", "Hi"};
string output;

foreach(string str in strings)
{
output = String.Format("{0,-4:???}", str);
}

The -4 ensures that str is placed into a field width 4 characters
wide, left justified--great!

What does ??? have to be so that str never exceeds 4 characters--so
that the output is:

Hell
Wedn
Hi

This can be done in C with printf(), so I thought it would be possible
in .NET.

Thanks,
Craig

[Anders Norås]

MC wrote:

Is it possible to use String.Format and a format specifier in such a
way to ensure that a string does not exceed the field width in which
it is placed?

There is no built-in IFormatProvider for this, but you could build one
yourself. There are easier solutions available, the code below creates
fixed length strings.

foreach(string str in strings)
{
output = str.Substring(0,(str.Length>=4?4:str.Length)).PadR ight(4);
}

Anders Norås
http://dotnetjunkies.com/weblog/anoras/

[MC]

Thanks.

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 11:08:09 +0100, Anders Norås
<an**********@objectware.no> wrote:

MC wrote:

Is it possible to use String.Format and a format specifier in such a
way to ensure that a string does not exceed the field width in which
it is placed?

There is no built-in IFormatProvider for this, but you could build one
yourself. There are easier solutions available, the code below creates
fixed length strings.

foreach(string str in strings)
{
output = str.Substring(0,(str.Length>=4?4:str.Length)).PadR ight(4);
}

Anders Norås
http://dotnetjunkies.com/weblog/anoras/